United States v. William Andrew Vigil
Opinion
Opinion
Noonan, J.
William Andrew Vigil appeals from his conviction of two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1). He contends that evidence used against him should have been suppressed and that the evidence at trial was insufficient to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. We affirm.
SUPPRESSION HEARING
At the suppression hearing Vigil supplied this version of the facts: He entered the magnetometer at the Southwest Airlines terminal in Los Angeles Airport. The magnetometer beeped as he entered it. The security agent, Carolyn Chisolm, asked if he was wearing a belt buckle. He said no, it was his boots making the beep. She asked him to lift his shirt and when he did so she grabbed the bundle under the shirt. She asked if it was soap. At this point Vigil was still at the entrance side of the magnetometer. He did not say how he answered Chisolm but he did not tell her or anyone else that the bundle was “my dope” or “my drugs,” and put it on the table.
Vigil’s account was contradicted on material points by Chisolm. The district court made the following findings of fact, rejecting Vigil’s version and accepting Chisolm’s: